Spyder the Fighter
by heyits.reagan
Summary: A fight leads to a secret Spyder was hoping his best friends would never discover.


Sorry if Spyder is a little OOC in this. I just kinda love the idea of Spyder being protective of his friends idk but this prompt idea was supplied by MechX-Fangirl, so I dedicate this to them! Thanks for the suggestion :) Hope you enjoy!

* * *

Mark had offered to teach Spyder and Ryan how to fight when things started to get real with the monsters. The older boy thought it wouldn't hurt for them to know how to defend themselves if ever needed.

Harris put himself out of the question immediately when he decided he'd be more helpful being the 'smart guy' instead of one who can fight. The rest of the team agreed.

Spyder refused. He claimed the bounce belt was the only defense he needed. "Besides," he had said that afternoon, "I'm a lover, not a fighter."

 _If that were true_ , Ryan thinks as he peers around the corner of the school building, _then_ _ **what the heck**_ _is happening out there?_

School let out a few minutes ago. They're supposed to be on their way to the robot, but instead Ryan and Harris are peeking around the edge of the gym as they watch the rest of their trio engage in a nasty fight with two guys they didn't recognize.

What's worse though is that their best friend, the one who claims he hates fighting, is delivering some hits back. It's… It's horrific. The way Spyder stumbles after receiving a blow to his gut only to spin around and knock the other guy in the cheek. Blood and sweat flies off each boy and splatters across the grass.

"What do we do?" Harris asks, unable to tear his eyes from the fight. It's disgusting and frightening, but he can't look away. He's mesmerized by the style and form of his best friend. Spyder moves and dodges like he's done it before. He can suspect a punch to the ribs, but is a little slow to a hit in the nose.

Ryan runs before he even thinks. He races to the middle of the battle and shoves those boys back. They stumble and blink at the new comer, blood dripping from their noses and lips. Harris anxiously hangs back, searching for somebody who can help them.

The two guys are lean and tall, towering over Ryan and Spyder like trees. Ryan surveys them, notes the bruises across their arms that are too old to be from this fight and the piercings dotted around their faces. Ryan realizes this might've been a bad idea, running into a fight he probably can't win. At least now though, the teams are fair.

"Who the hell are you?" one demands, glaring at Ryan.

"He's the younger Walker kid," the other explains. "His brother's in my class."

"So you know that he and his buddies could really mess you guys up if I told them about what just happened?" Ryan asks. Behind him, Spyder wipes the blood from his mouth and weakly stands next to his friend. He rests his arm on Ryan's shoulder casually, but they both know it's actually for support.

"You threatin' us?" the first one growls, taking a step forward. Ryan instinctively steps back, but Spyder shoves on the guy's chest.

"Back off," Spyder snaps.

"Yeah," the other agrees, "this ain't worth getting' them idiot jocks on us."

Ryan bites back a remark about this jerk insulting his brother.

"Whatever," the first scoffs and the two stalk off. Ryan and Spyder watch until they've disappeared around the building. Harris joins the two and nobody speaks for a second.

Then, Harris breaks the silence, "So, are we gonna talk about what just happened or…?"

Spyder licks his lips; they taste like iron. "Um, well, okay, so I kinda have a secret I've been keeping from you guys."

Ryan raises an eyebrow. "A secret?"

"Yeah, from last year. Back in January and half of February when I wasn't in school?" His friends nod, recalling that time. It was odd not seeing Spyder in class every day and nobody would talk about where he went. Spyder continues, "Well I kinda, maybe, got into some trouble and was in juvie."

Their jaws drop and again, nobody says anything for a moment. Spyder looks between his friend and sheepishly adds, "Sorry I didn't tell you. I figured you'd look at me differently if you thought I was a criminal." That's his biggest fear, if he's being honest. When he was arrested that night, his heart pounded in his chest so hard it hurt. The only thing he thought of as he was being driven away to the detention center was: _What are my friends gonna say about this?_

"Are… You a criminal?" Harris asks, almost accusingly.

"Harris," Ryan warns.

"What? I'm allowed to ask that. Are you a criminal?"

"No." Spyder shakes his head slowly as a migraine starts to form. "I was just caught tagging some old buildings around town with some kids."

"So… You _are_ a criminal."

"Harris!" Ryan leans over and smacks his shoulder.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry! That was the wrong thing to say. I just mean… Vandalism _is_ a crime and you _were_ sent to juvie so, that does kinda make you a criminal…"

Spyder forces a weak smile. "Yeah, I guess so. Maybe more of a one-hit-wonder kind of criminal. I was caught, did my time, learned my lesson. I'm never doing it again."

"What was the deal with those guys, then?" Ryan questions, rolling his shoulder.

"They were in there the same time I was. The older kids usually started unnecessary fights and sometimes, the younger kids were thrown into the middle of them."

"That's where you learned to fight…" Harris realizes quietly.

"Yeah. I guess they were finally released and had unfinished business with me or something."

"Spyder, you should've known we would never judge you for that," Ryan says. "I mean, we've all made stupid mistakes."

Spyder nods. "I know, I should've told you guys."

"We should get you to the nurse," Harris advises. "She's probably still here."

"Right, good idea," Ryan agrees.

Spyder is relieved his friends finally know his secret, but he's even more at ease knowing that they're okay with it. When things get rough, he's happy to know he's got his friends to fall back on.

•••••

The next morning, Spyder walks into school with a battered face and a limp in his step. He overslept, so he arrives just at the end of first period. He nods to Harris when he reaches their lockers.

"Glad you could join us," Harris laughs. As he grabs a book for his next class, he asks, "How do you feel?"

"Sore," Spyder answers, "but I'm fine. Where's Ryan?"

Harris tugs his lower lip between his teeth and doesn't answer. Spyder looks back at him when met with silence. "Harris?" he asks, leaning against the door of his locker.

"He's around," Harris answers vaguely, shutting his door. "You have science this period, right?"

"Sci-Harris, what happened?"

"If you hurry, you might find out."

Spyder's confused, but he grabs his science book and slams his locker shut. The pair head for their next class, which is located at the front of the school by the principal's office. The halls are emptying now and only a few older students linger in the halls. As the pair reach their classroom, the door to the principal's office swings open.

"I'm telling you," one of the guys from yesterday swears, "his eyes were _glowing_ and then the lights went out!" It's the one who recognized Ryan yesterday. Behind him, his friend nods his head furiously. Spyder's stomach drops.

"Harris," Spyder growls, turning on his friend.

"Relax, no one's gonna believe them," Harris reassures him.

"Oh yes, I'm sure a freshman did destroy the lights with his mind," the principal says, heavy sarcasm dripping from his words. "Making up stories isn't helping your situation. I've had far too much trouble with you two these past two years. You are no longer welcomed in this school."

Ryan steps out of the office then, biting back a smug smile as he spies his friends before turning back to the jerks.

"Shouldn't have messed with my friend," he states quietly so only they can hear. He walks away before either boy can lunge at him. The principal escorts the boys out of the building and Ryan joins his friends.

Spyder punches him in the shoulder. Ryan recoils in shock, " _Ow_!"

"You outed yourself just to scare them?" Spyder demands. "That was _stupid_."

"Nobody's gonna believe them!" Ryan defends. "Besides, I didn't do anything bad. We probably won't have gym today though because the boys' locker room lights are kinda… _Broken_."

"You're an idiot."

"I was just supposed to let them get away with messing with you like that?"

"Yes! We fought, the business was done, everything was over. They weren't going to bother me again."

Harris rubs his chin. "They would've bothered Ryan, though. According to your logic, you fight someone and then you're even, right? Well, Ryan interrupted the fight. So, he would've been their next target. Ryan actually just protected himself _and_ defended you."

Spyder rolls his eyes. "I hate it when you make sense of things like that."

Ryan grins. "Can't you just thank me and we can go on with our day?"

"Yeah, okay. Thanks, bro. Thanks for having my back."

"Well, we're kinda a team, y'know?" Ryan snickers. Spyder chuckles and rolls his eyes.

He can't believe he ever thought his friends would treat him differently. Now that his secret is out in the open, he feels like he can be himself again with nothing to hide. He knows that, no matter what happens in the future, his friends will always be there and always understand.


End file.
